St Luke's Hospice launches Monthly Donations appeal

16th August 2021

St Luke's Hospice has launched a new appeal with supporter Vickki Pryor leading the campaign, encouraging supporters to set up a monthly donation and help with the charity's recovery post-pandemic.

When Tim Pryor came towards the end of his battle with prostate cancer, he discovered that the best support he and wife Vickki could have was right on their own doorstep, at St Luke’s Hospice.

And that is why Vickki is now making a regular monthly donation to St Luke’s - and is hoping that other people will join her as the charity launches a new fundraising campaign to help rebuild the charity’s income as it anticipates feeling the impact of the coronavirus pandemic for several years to come.

Tim was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer in April 2014 and he had no symptoms at all until he began to experience acute back pain, the sign that the cancer had already spread to his spine.

At first Tim was a patient of the St Luke’s Community team, receiving support with his pain control at home before then being admitted to St Luke’s as an inpatient to help with pain relief.

“When St Luke’s used to come round to the house, the relief that someone else was there was enormous,” Vickki says.

“The minute Tim was admitted to St Luke’s, it was clear he was in the perfect place and people were able to come and see him in this lovely, calm, peaceful, controlled environment.”

Vickki admits that she had never previously appreciated the full extent of St Luke’s services.

“I didn't understand the work they did in the community and the fact that you could go to the hospice as a patient purely for pain relief so it really opened up my eyes to the amazing work that St Luke’s do,” she says.

More than anything, though, Vickki says the whole St Luke’s team treated Tim as an individual, understanding his needs at every stage.

“It meant everything to me because St Luke’s were there to lift a weight off me and I knew I wasn’t on my own anymore,” she says.

That’s why, since Tim’s death, Vickki has taken part in fundraising activities, including the annual St Luke’s Night Strider and the tough TRIB3 28-day gym challenge.

And she is also giving her support to the new St Luke’s campaign for monthly donations, hoping that people who read Tim’s story will want to give their support too.

Setting up a regular, monthly donation is one of the best ways to support St Luke’s as it offers a sustainable, predictable income for the charity.

“I donate to St Luke’s each month because they are offering something that is entirely unique to the city and is so essential to the families of Sheffield,” says Vickki.

“You don't realise how essential it is until you're in that situation yourself - and it’s lovely thinking of the things that your fundraising helps to achieve.

“It’s nothing compared to what St Luke’s do but I hope that by sharing my story, others might sign up to give a monthly donation to St Luke’s as a result.”

For more information about supporting St Luke's with a monthly donation visit www.stlukeshospice.org.uk/monthly-donation.

For further information call John Highfield on 07776 180911 or email: info@johnhighfieldpr.co.uk.